A very interesting article about how themed instances form their own communities. Although the article focuses on Mastodon, its insights apply to the entire Fediverse. #Fediverse #Communities

Federated Mind

Place, Language, and Craft: Mastodon Communities

Part 2 of Exploring Mastodon, a three-part mini-series inside the broader Exploring the Fediverse series. If you're new here, Part 1 covers the ove...

I was just playing tag with a little lamb in the garden. It’s still small enough to squeeze through a gap in the fence. I guess I should talk to my neighbor so he’ll keep an eye on it when his little flock is out to graze again.

LLMs for Cognitive Augmentation Humans have always used tools to augment their cognitive abilities. With LLMs, we are witnessing the emergence of the most profound cognitive augmentation to date — one that actively participates in the thought process itself. While traditional tools operate with fixed maps of information, such as rigid categories and hierarchies, LLMs function more like dynamic networks in which meaning and relationships emerge through context and interaction. When we engage with an LLM, we are forced to externalize our internal thought processes, making them more visible to us and allowing us to refine them more effectively. The human mind is capable of thinking in two different ways, known as System-1 thinking and System-2 thinking. System-1 basically encompasses the things we can do on autopilot without giving them much thought. System-2 thinking means: - It requires our conscious attention - It is slow and deliberate. - Requires cognitive effort System-2 is the thinking that enables us to develop new skills. So when we try to automate processes using LLMs, we should be able to offload the tasks we already know and can handle automatically using our System-1 thinking. Three principles for using generative AI, from Reid Hoffman’s “Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI”: 1. Treat LLMs like a student research assistant. 2. You are the director; the AI is the actor. 3. Experiment with it. Find out what you can do. According to these principles, LLMs represent a starting point, not the answer. #AI #LLM

Winter is making a comeback. That means we'll have another chance to shovel snow tomorrow.

Holos is a very interesting ActivityPub project. It runs a complete ActivityPub server directly on your smartphone. Posts, followers, and cryptographic keys are stored on the device. This architecture reminds me of Nostr. A personal relay is also used for offline phases. #Holos #ActivityPub #Nostr

How It Works - Holos

Your phone becomes your social server

The neighbor's sheep find every single gap in the fence to get onto our side. #Neighbors #Sheep

Interesting analysis by Lorenz Hoff that X has now evolved from a pure platform into a communicative power tool for the tech elite. #uspol #SocialMedia #X

connectedplaces.online

X Is a Power Problem, Not a Platform Problem

Fediverse Report #148: X is not a just platform problem anymore, it's a power problem, and why you cannot compete as platforms with power.

What I find particularly interesting about the new Surf app is the combination of posts from Bluesky, Threads, and the Fediverse in one feed. Everything is grouped together by the topic of the subscribed feed. Unfortunately, the app only allows you to log in to Bluesky and Mastodon instances. Instances from other Fediverse projects are rejected. #Fediverse #Flipboard #Surf

After many years, I am rereading the book "The Soul of a New Machine" by John Kidder. It is a very exciting description of the development of a new computer.

Ben Wertmuller's keynote speech at FediForm referred to the Fediverse, but I think it is also relevant to Nostr.

Ben Werdmuller

Why the open social web matters now

The needs are real – and you have so much power.

#OpenSocialWeb #SocialMedia #SocialNetworking #Nostr

Once the purchase of TikTok in the USA has been successfully completed, Fediverse and Nostr will become tendril networks (see "The Network Revolution" by Jacques Vallee) that will colonize the niches between the commercial platforms. #SocialNetworking #Nostr

Last night the pack of wild boars plowed up our garden again. Luckily we hadn't put in too much work after the last time, it would have been for nothing now. I'm starting to get really annoyed. #Gardening

The new version of #Amethyst is really great.

I should check my nostr feed more often. I've definitely been missing out on that the last few days. #Nostr

Ah, Gemini can now connect to Google Home and the old routines still work. #AI #Gemini #Google

Ah, I've just been offered the update to Android 16.

Using the Obsidian Vault as a source for NotebookLM clearly takes Niklas Luhmann's concept of the note box as a conversation partner to a new level. #pkm #AI #NotebookLM

In #MobLand, Harry Da Souza is clearly the most interesting character.

Ah, next week is another long weekend, public holiday + bridge day, very nice.

It's interesting to see the differences I now make in the use of Nostr and the Fediverse. In the Fediverse, I follow accounts that mainly post on topics that interest me. Since the distribution of hashtags is much better in Nostr, I prefer to follow these here. #Nostr #Fediverse